James Potter and Meeting the Marauders
by GryffindorGirl117
Summary: Follow James Potter and his friends through their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Chapter 1: Diagon Alley

"Mom please. Only for ten minutes." James Potter begged in a whiny voice.

"Well I guess it can't hurt… But ten minutes not a minute more." James' mother said uncertainly.

The last thing James heard as he ran out of the house was his father saying, "You are too nice to that boy."

James ran to the shed and pulled out his trusty broom, a cleansweep five, he mounted and kicked off the ground. Although he is only eleven James is a great flyer and had known about Hogwarts for a long time.

James had just been making a dash across the field on his broom when he heard a great yell from inside the house, "NINE MINUTES JAMES! YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE LEFT!" His mother yelled.

He made a sharp turn, landed next to the shed put away his broom and made a mad dash to the house.

" 58… 59… and…" His mom was saying. James just shut the door, "60! Okay ready to go?" James looked at himself, his black hair stuck up in the back, his blood red robes were dirty and had a few holes and his boots were brown from all the mud on them. But he was ready, he was going to get his wand and other school things today as he just got his letter to Hogwarts. His mom tutted before sending a cleaning spell his way, cleaning off the mud and fixing the holes. James then stepped into the fireplace, he threw down a handful of floo powder and said, "Diagon Alley!" in a clear voice.

He walked out into a new world it seemed, there was stores everywhere and the light was shining in his eyes. Having grown up in the wizarding world he heard people talk about the alley but this was his first time actually visiting.

James jumped as a hand was put on his shoulder, "Welcome son, to Diagon Alley."

"Okay, Okay." His mother said stepping out of the fireplace. "First stop Gringotts. The big white marble one."

As they made their way to Gringotts he looked at the stores, then he saw one. "Ohhh, Dad can we go there? Please!" James said pointing towards a store named Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"We will see son." His father replied.

James then found himself at the base of Gringotts. The sight of this huge building drove Quidditch out of his mind. He entered past two goblins and his mom went to a free desk. A goblin too sat there. On James' left a goblin was measuring out stacks of galleons, on the right a goblin was sorting jewels from red and blue. The goblin they stopped in front of looked up and James' Mom said, "Mr. James Potter would like to access his vault."

The goblin replied, "Which one is Mr. James Potter." James stepped forward. "Now Mr. James Potter do you have your vault's key?"

James was scared, he did not have a key, "Uhh-h… N-no S-s-sir."

The goblin rounded on his parents just as his dad stepped forward with a little gold key in his hand. "The key to Mr. James Potter's vault." His father said.

The goblin looked on his list, "This vault has never been opened is that correct."

"Yes" his father replied.

"Mr. James Potter now has to answer some questions. This is for security and to check to make sure the records are correct. Now… First name is James, last name is Potter. Is that correct?"

"Y-yes." James replied

"Born March 27, 1960?"

"Y-yes"

"And you are going to Hogwarts?"

"Yes"

"Okay then. GRIPHOOK!" Then quietly he told Griphook something. Griphook walked out from behind the counter, he was probably the youngest goblin here. He was a couple inches shorter than most of the goblins and his hair was brown instead of gray.

"This way please." He said in a squeaky voice. Griphook reminded James of their house elf, Godric. James followed Griphook to a door that went off to a different hallway. James looked back and saw the goblin that questioned him was already with someone different.

He looked around at his new surrounding, it was very dark compared to the vast hall he just left and was made of grey stone. As James examined this place a whistle brought James back to the present. His parents were looking down the track so he did the same. Suddenly a light pierced the dark and a little minecart came rocking out of the darkness. His parents and Griphook got in, but James just stared at the little cart thinking about the weight limit and how strong the tracks are. "You coming James or are we leaving you here?" asked his father jokingly. James turned a deep pink and got in. Then they were off rocking away on the little cart. At times they would pass over chasms that went down farther than James could see. James started to feel sick and he didn't look like the only one, his father was holding on so tight his knuckles turned white. Then suddenly right when James was looking down the car stopped and James almost fell out, but his mom caught him and pulled him off. He looked around at the vaults as his dad and Griphook got out. Griphook held out his hand and James' dad put the key in his hand. Griphook put the key in the hole turned it and the door swung open. Inside must have been a hundreds of galleons, knuts and sickles. His dad held out a little leather bag, "Fill up." he said. James took the bag and stuffed it full of the money. Then one rocky and nauseating ride later he was out in Diagon Alley.

"Okay. Gringotts down, next stop is Flourish and Blotts." His mom said.

"Hey I'm going to run off to the Leaky Cauldron to get a drink." His dad said giving James' mom a quick kiss on the cheek and ruffling James' hair then running off, his black robe billowing behind him.

James and his mom walked down to the shop. James went from shelf to shelf getting all his school books. His mom went to wait in line to buy his books while he drifted to the back of the store looking at books such as _Pranks to Fool Your Friends and Curse Your Enemies_. There was only one other kid back here, then he laughed and James came over to see what he was looking at. It showed someone's tongue tied in a knot. James laughed too. The boy looked up and paused before saying, "Hello I'm Sirius Ori-... err… Just call me Sirius."

James laughed slightly, "I'm James Potter."

"Do you like pranking?" Asked Sirius.

"Well I never had anyone to prank."

"Really!? I always prank our house elf"

"I tried once on my cousin but I didn't know any magic."

The boys continued to talk about pranking until James heard his mom calling so he told Sirius goodbye and left.

Finally three hours later, at four o'clock, the only place they hadn't went to was Ollivanders. Together James and his mom entered the shop. An old man was behind the counter. "Hello. Ahh… Holly 13 and a quarter inches, unicorn hair, spring, wasn't it." He said.

"Yes sir." James' mom replied.

"SNAP." A tape measure sprung up and started measuring James. Meanwhile Mr. Ollivander was pulling down boxes.

"Now Mr. Potter you must understand that it is the wand that chooses the wizard." Mr. Ollivander said. He then opened a box and handed James a wand, James waved it setting the tape measure on fire. Mr. Ollivander put out the fire and took the wand back. Next wand flooded the shop. Slowly the pile of rejected wands got bigger. Four o'clock turned to five, five turned to five thirty and still James had no wand. "Tricky customer, not to worry Mr. Potter, we will find you a wand." He tried a couple more before he waved a wand and a jet of red light blew out. His mom clapped and Mr. Ollivander said, "Mahogany, eleven inches, pliable, excellent for transfiguration." James paid then left the shop.

As they left James' dad came up to them. Kissing Mrs. Potter on the cheek he said, "Sorry Euphemia got caught up."

In reply she said, "Ah yes I'm sure the line for drinks at the Leaky Cauldron was very long."

"Well you know… Tom's an old school friend." Turning to James he said, "Plus I got the young lad a present, not every day you get accepted into Hogwarts, right?" From behind his back he pulled out an owl cage and inside was a elegant barn owl.

"Wow! Thanks Dad!" James said hugging his dad.

Returning home James played with his wand shooting sparks around and imaging Hogwarts before falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The Hogwarts Express

It has been a couple weeks since the visit to Diagon Alley. James has read all his books and enjoys transfiguration. James wondered what Hogwarts was going to be like as he paced his room. He tried to keep a thought off his mind. What if he was in Slytherin? He hated Slytherin, how could he be in Slytherin, he hated green and snakes. Green reminded James of death, the _Avada Kedavra,_ the killing curse, just a flash of green and it was all over. Then snakes, they slither around, sneaky and deadly. James knew that his hatred of snakes and green would not keep him out of Slytherin. If the sorting hat thought he was more cunning than, smart, loyal or brave then off to Slytherin he goes. James decided to finish packing his things. Tomorrow he would know, tomorrow he would be at Hogwarts. He thought the chance that he would be in Slytherin was unlikely as his whole family was in Gryffindor but then again as his Dad said, 'Family names can be deceiving.' He thought about his Dad, surely his parents wouldn't disown him if he wasn't in Gryffindor? James threw his last book in his trunk and then went out to do a last fly on his broom before going off to Hogwarts.

?

"James it is morning. Off to Hogwarts today." His mom said sweetly.

James jumped up then looked at the clock. "Mom it is five in the morning." James said in a whiny voice.

"Honey it is a two hour drive to the metro station." His mom said.

"But floo powder. Why can't we use floo powder?" James questioned.

"Where would we get out James?" His mom questioned of James.

"Oh. Well okay." James said.

"We are driving to the metro, taking it to a King's Cross Station then you are taking the train from platform nine and three quarters." His mom said sternly.

"Nine and three quarters?"

"Yes. Now get dressed. Hurry up."

James got dressed in his school robes and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. When James got down his dad started laughing so hard he fell off his chair. James turned red in the face and said, "What dad?"

"You can't expect to look like a muggle in th-those. Silly we are taking the muggle metro to the station. Go get changed James." His dad said while chuckling.

James went back up the stairs and got on an Appleby Arrows t-shirt and a pair of muggle jeans. James then went down to the kitchen and ate breakfast. After James and his dad heaved his trunk into the car they got ready to go. It was six thirty when they left. About fifteen minutes later James suddenly yelled, "Stop! I forgot my owl." So they turned around and James' mom did a last minute check. By the time they left it was seven ten. Their metro train left at nine o'clock. It was easily a two hour drive and they were ten minutes short. His dad floored it to the station but even then they had three minutes. James' mom ran to get a trolley while James and his dad got the trunk out and owl. When they rolled into the station they only had two minutes. James sprinted to the ticket booth, "Three tickets to King's Cross Station." James said.

"Get lost kid." Said the ticket booth lady.

Just then James' mom and dad caught up. "Three tickets to King's Cross Station." James' mom said.

The lady looked at these new arrivals. She said the price of the tickets. They paid for them. Just then over the loudspeaker came, "Last call for nine o'clock train to King's Cross Station."

"Better get going." Said the lady from the ticket booth.

James and his family ran to the train. They were just about to close the doors when James yelled, "WAIT!"

The conductor looked around then saw them. "Hurry up over here." Yelled the conductor. He took their tickets and they boarded the train just as over the loudspeaker came, "The doors for nine o'clock King's Cross Station train are closing." They were off for King's Cross Station. In an hour and a half they would be there. James watched fields whip by, then they entered the city. London was a great place, full of stores, there were even hot dog stands. James had never been to London, the biggest city he had been to was downtown Appleby, which he lived a few minutes North of.

Before he knew it they were stopping at King's Cross Station. It was ten thirty, they had plenty of time. James followed his parents to the spot in between platform nine and ten which was on the other side of the station. He looked at his parents, "Where is the platform?" He asked. His mom and dad pointed at the barrier, so James went over to the barrier and looked on the other side, "Not over there." He said when he got back, so his dad walked over to the barrier and walked through it, at least that is what it looked like. So James grabbed his trolley and followed walking up to the barrier, he put his hand on it, but instead of it staying there it sunk through. He pulled his hand out , made a circle and ran right through it.

He looked up on the other side, a beautiful scarlet train was waiting. The platform already packed at ten forty five, was very loud. Owls were hooting, friends were talking and parents were saying goodbye to their children. James walked over to his dad who helped him into a compartment, he put his owl down. Just then Sirius came walking over. "Thought that was you James." He said

"Hey Sirius. Let me show you the compartment I found." James replied. James helped Sirius heave his trunk and owl into the compartment, then went out to say bye to his parents.

"James I have something to give you." His father said. James followed his father to a quiet spot where his dad gave him a cloak. "It is an invisibility cloak." James' dad said.

"Awesome! Thanks dad." James said giving his dad a hug. He put it in his coat. The whistle blew and he hurried to get on the train, hugging his mom again he hopped into the compartment and waved to them goodbye until they were out of sight. James looked around the compartment, a girl sat beside the window crying and a boy named Remus Lupin introduced himself. James sat down next to Sirius and they started talking about classes. The compartment door slid open and a boy sat down across from the girl. They started talking all James heard was a couple words. Then he heard the boy say Slytherin.

"Slytherin?" James said. He looked at the boy, he looked uncared for and his hair was almost curling with oil. " Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked Sirius.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin." Said Sirius.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!" James said.

Sirius grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading if you have the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

The kid with oily hair made a small disparaging noise, James turned on him.

"Got a problem with that?" James asked.

"No," said the boy with a sneer. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy - "

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter while the girl stood up. She looked from James to Sirius with dislike.

"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment.

"Oooooo…"

James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Severus as he passed.

Then James yelled, "See ya, Snivellus!" as the compartment door slammed shut. James and Sirius roared with laughter.

Till noon they talked and laughed at Severus. They had already made an enemy and it wasn't even lunch yet. For some reason when James first laid eyes on Severus, he felt instant dislike, he felt a need to humiliate the greasy headed boy. What made it even better was that he felt like he impressed Sirius, his only friend.

At lunch a food trolley came around and James bought a lot of food, together they ate through James' food. After lunch they talked about houses and changed into their school robes. Finally the train pulled into the station.

It was a cold and windy night. The first years slipped and slid down to the boat docks where they could see Hogwarts for the first time.

It was a magnificent castle. The windows sparkled with light and James thought of all the places he could explore with his cloak. James saw Severus who was by the edge of the water. James pretending he wanted to get closer to the edge of the lake walked over next to Severus. When the big man looked the other way James pushed Severus into the lake. Severus fell on his butt and slid into the lake. Everyone roared with laughter and Sirius fist bumped James. The girl on the other hand was not laughing at all and she threw James such a dirty look that if looks could kill James would be dead.

Once Severus got up they all piled into boats. James and Sirius shared a boat with Remus and another boy who they didn't recognize. The boats started to glide across the lake towards the castle leading them to their new home.


	3. Chapter 3: The Sorting Ceremony

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my first fanfiction so please leave any constructive** **criticism in the comments. I hope you all enjoy ! :)**

By the time they got inside the castle everyone was shivering. In the entrance hall they met a stern lady who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She explained about the four houses. James meanwhile was so nervous he heard almost none of it. She then had them wait in a side chamber. The chamber was silent. No one said a word while they waited. When McGonagall got back she led them into the Great Hall. Everyone watched them walk in until they reached the front and on a stool stood a very old, very dirty, hat. James looked around the hall. Everyone was looking at the hat. As he turned his attention to the hat the brim opened up and it began to sing,

 _Do not believe all that you see,_

 _For who could believe what a hat such as me can be!_

 _Put me on, and I will look,_

 _I will find that defining trait._

 _Will you be brave,_

 _A trait Gryffindor desires,_

 _Will you be cunning,_

 _For then Slytherin would be your home,_

 _How about witful,_

 _Dear Ravenclaw will take you in,_

 _And lastly, but certainly not least,_

 _Will you find your place in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where loyalty is a star trait?_

 _So put me on and I will tell you,_

 _Which house is the one in which you belong._

Everyone began clapping so the first years joined in. James was more nervous than he had ever been before. McGonagall then stepped up and called the first name, "Abbott, Greg"

Greg stepped up and the sorting hat slipped over his eyes. After a few seconds it screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The second table to the right exploded and people clapped loudly.

Then came, "Black, Sirius"

Sirius walked up and put the hat on, the hat took a long time deciding before it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall went silent save for a couple of first years and muggleborns who quickly stopped clapping. Whispers broke out as he walked over to the Gryffindor table, no one could believe that a Black had not went to Slytherin, much less Gryffindor. Suddenly someone started clapping and soon a couple more people joined in, but it didn't last long and the next person got called. Meanwhile James was conflicted, he really liked Sirius, but Sirius was a Black, and Blacks were not to be trusted. Although like his father said, "Family names can be deceiving."

A couple more people got called before, "Evans, Lily" The girl from the train walked up put the hat on and it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" James let a little snicker escape as she gave Severus a little sad smile then sat next to Sirius. She must have recognized him because she turned her back on him.

More people kept going up, than, "Lupin, Remus" went up. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled after a somewhat short pause.

More and more people got called. Than the first "P" name was called, "Pettigrew, Peter" It was the kid that sat on the boat with them. He tripped on his way up. This time the hat slid down to his chin. Everyone waited, and James got impatient, what was taking this kid so long? After what seemed like, at least an hour to James, but was only about six minutes the brim of the hat opened and screamed "GRYFFINDOR!"

Another kid was called up, and sorted into Ravenclaw.

Than "Potter, James" He walked up and let the sorting hat slide over his eyes, and then all he saw was blackness. "Ahh… Hmm… yes... " James jumped as he heard the little voice in his head. "Gryffindor would suit you well, lots of bravery. Well then, GRYFFINDOR!" James jumped up gave the hat back and sat in between Lily and Sirius. He waited while everyone else was being sorted. Then near the end, "Snape, Severus" Severus got up walked over and a second after it hit his head it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Finally the last person was sorted. Professor Dumbledore stood up and said, "Let the feast begin!"

The plates filled with food and James grabbed chicken, corn, beef and almost anything else he could grab. Meanwhile Sirius was placing a napkin on his lap and then began to fill his plate. Compared to Sirius, James looked like a wild beast at the table. Soon the two boys began a conversation with Remus and Peter. They mostly talked about classes. After awhile the plates were cleared and dessert came out. By this time James was so full he only ate some pudding and pie before beginning to feel sick. Finally Dumbledore stood up and said, "Now to sing our school song!" Then out of his wand came ribbons that turned into lyrics, "Sing at your favorite song rhythm." And so they began;

 _Hogwarts, Hogwarts_

 _Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts,_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald,_

 _Or young with scabby knees,_

 _Our heads could do with filling,_

 _With some interesting stuff,_

 _For now they're bare and full of air,_

 _Dead flies and bits of fluff._

 _So teach us things worth knowing,_

 _Bring back what we've forgot,_

 _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

 _And learn until our brains all rot!_

Everyone clapped and cheered as the last people finished. "Now off to bed you trot." Dumbledore said.

"Gryffindors follow me, this way!" Shouted an older student. "First years! Come on this way!" They followed the older student up some stairs until they stopped on the landing. "My name is Arthur Weasley, I am a Gryffindor prefect. Welcome to Hogwarts. Just a warning, the staircases like to change. This way!" So they set off after him. They followed all the way up to a portrait of a fat lady.

"Password?" She asked.

"Flibbertigibbet" Said Arthur. The portrait swung open and they all climbed in. "You need a password to enter the common room. If it changes it should be pinned up in the morning. The boy's dormitory is to the right and up the stairs, the girl's is the same on your left. Boys I would not advise you trying to get into the girls dormitory. You will find everything you need has already been brought up. Now off you go."  
James followed his classmates up the steps to their dormitory. He found his owl and opened his cage. Sirius watched it go. "What's its name?" Sirius asked.

"Haven't named it yet." James replied.

"You should name it Sirius Rocks or Snape Sucks." Sirius said.

"Hmmm… Sure." James said while falling asleep.


End file.
